Danelo Cavalcante – update: Pennsylvania manhunt widens and schools shutter five days after prison escape
The manhunt for convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante has now widened and local schools have been shuttered after he was spotted on trail camera footage breaking past a police parimeter on Monday night. Cavalcante, 34, escaped from Chester County Prison, Pennsylvania, on Thursday days after he was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão, 31, to death in front of her two small children. He is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil. During the six-day search for the escaped prisoner, multiple sightings have been reported with law enforcement setting up a two-mile parimeter around a wooded area where he was believed to be holed up. On Monday, officials then broadcast a message from the killer’s mother urging her son to surrender. But, in a morning update on Tuesday, police revealed that Cavalcante had been caught on camera managing to sneak past the parimeter the night before. As a result, police have now expanded the police parimeter and shuttered the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester Count “out of abundance of caution”. Members of the public have been urged to secure their homes, outbuildings and vehicles from the dangerous killer. Read More Search for escaped murderer prompts Pennsylvania school closures after mother’s surrender message Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break
2023-09-05 22:16
Search for escaped murderer prompts Pennsylvania school closures after mother’s surrender message
Pennsylvania police have shuttered local schools “out of abundance of caution” as the search for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante enters its sixth day. In a memo sent to parents, the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County said that schools across the district would be closed on Tuesday as the “search situation” to find the convicted killer has now changed. “We were informed early this morning by law enforcement that the search situation has evolved and out of an abundance of caution, schools and offices will be closed today,” Superintendent Dr Dusty Blakey said in the letter. “We understand that situations like these can be unsettling. The safety and security of our KCSD community remains our top priority. We are committed to taking all necessary precautions and measures to ensure the safety of our students and staff.” The Spt urged the community to stay informed about the situation which continues to rapidly evolve. In a press conference on Tuesday morning, officials said that Cavalcante had been caught on a trail camera on Monday night managing to escape the two-mile radius which had been surrounded by law enforcement. The escaped murderer was captured on the trail camera at Longwood Gardens in East Marlborough Township, Chester County, at 8.21pm travelling one direction. He was then spotted coming past the camera again at 9.33pm local time. As a result, police have now shifted and expanded the police parimeter and shuttered nearby schools. The images show that Cavalcante has obtained a backpack and a hooded sweatshirt during his escape. Members of the public were urged to secure their homes, outbuildings and vehicles and to contact police if they spot the killer. The latest sighting comes hours after authorities broadcast a message from the killer’s mother into the wooded area where was believed to be holed up. Cavalcante, 34, escaped from Chester County Prison on Thursday days after he was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão to death. The killer attacked Brandão in Schuylkill Township, back in August 2021, in front of her two children, who were just seven and three years old. He is also wanted for a murder in 2017 in Brazil. Following his prison escape and huge manhunt to find him, the search has been reduced down to a two-mile radius of a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township, Chester County, where Cavalcante is believed to be currently hiding. On Monday, law enforcement resorted to a new tactic of blasting a message from his mother, speaking in Portuguese, into his hiding place from police helicopters and patrol cars. Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US Marshal for the Easter District of Pennsylvania spoke at a conference on Monday afternoon, explaining why these tactics were being deployed. “As desperate as he is, maybe he has a change of thought and hears his mother telling him to surrender, and his family cares about him,” Mr Clark said. “Perhaps this is what puts him over the edge where we can get a peaceful surrender.” While Mr Clark did not confirm the exact wording of the message to Cavalcante, he said that that the killer’s mother was urging him to turn himself into authorities. “She’s just encouraging that his family loves him, and that she wants him to surrender. And that’s what our hope is as well,” he said. The new tactic comes as District Attorney Deb Ryan announced in a press briefing on Monday that the Pennsylvania State Police were taking over the investigation and search for Cavalcante. “The goal right now is to find and capture this dangerous fugitive. We are doing everything in our power to get this guy,” said DA Ryan. Since the manhunt started, there have been four credible sightings of the escaped inmate. Cavalcante has been seen at the intersection of Routes 926 and 52, north on Route 52 to Parkersville Road, southeast to Route 926 and west to the intersection of Routes 926 and 52 in Pocopson Township, police said. There have also been two reported burglaries in the area that police have investigated, but these are not currently confirmed to be linked to the escaped prisoner. However, Lt Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said on Monday that the incidents “are of interest to us”. Lt Col Bivens was the last person to spot Cavalcante on Sunday afternoon. From now on, he said authorities plan to use “stress” tactics, such as sharing his mother’s message, to help find him. “I intend to stress him. I want to push him hard. He’ll make mistakes,” he said. “He’ll show himself. He’s already shown himself, we believe, a few times.” Cavalcante is described as a 5 foot Brazilian man with light complexion, shaggy, black curly hair and brown eyes. After his escape, he was seen wearing a light-coloured shirt, pants, and white sneakers. He was also carrying a backpack, but police said they are unsure when or where he obtained the bag. Law enforcement teams, including the US Marshals, SWAT, local, state, and other federal agencies, have joined the search to find him. Authorities are also offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Cavalcante’s arrest. The public is urged not to approach Cavalcante if they see him, as he is considered dangerous. His escape comes after another prisoner escaped from Chester County prison earlier this year. “The prison is very aware of whatever vulnerabilities they had, and they have made efforts to correct those vulnerabilities,” the district attorney said. Read More Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante spotted on surveillance camera in Pennsylvania Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings
2023-09-05 21:27
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Suspect admits to fatally shooting Texas college student outside a bar – but can’t explain why
A Texas man admitted to fatally shooting a Texas Christian University student outside a bar, but could not give a reason as to why he committed the crime, a police affidavit revealed. Matthew Purdy Jr, 21, was located by police and arrested shortly after the tragic killing happened around 1am on Friday. Wes Smith, a junior at Texas Christian University, was shot three times while standing on a sidewalk in Fort Worth’s West 7th entertainment district, according to a police affidavit. Purdy told police that he did not know Smith and could not give a reason for the shooting. But did ask if he knew his father, who was assaulted in the area in the past, arrest documents stated. The college student had gunshot wounds to his stomach, shoulder and head, according to the affidavit that also revealed Purdy told police that he shot Smith in the head “because he wanted to make sure he was dead.” He also told police he would have fired more shots “if he hadn’t run out of ammunition.” Surveillance video reviewed by police showed the suspect as he approached Smith and appeared to speak to him before the student fell to the ground. Purdy, who was wearing a white T-shirt, dark pants, red ball cap and carrying a backpack, stood over Smith before running off, the affidavit said. A witness who later described the chaotic scene to police, said the suspect hit an unknown person in the back of the head with a gun. When Purdy was detained by police a short time later, he appeared to have “fresh blood” on his backpack, according to the affidavit. He was placed in the back of a patrol car where he dismantled a 9mm handgun that police say he had hidden, and threw pieces of it outside. At the time of the incident, Purdy was on probation for aggravated robbery. He now faces a murder charge and was booked at the Tarrant County Jail with a bond set at $500,000. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “Smith was shot and killed in a senseless act of gun violence.” Smith was a “remarkable young man who impacted countless lives including my own son as a football coach for his middle school team.” The Tennessee native was a junior at TCU where he was double-majoring in finance and marketing, according to Kathy Cavins-Tull, TCU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, who said in a statement that the university is “devastated.” Read More Shooting outside wedding in Ottawa leaves two dead and six injured Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings BTK serial killer’s chilling drawings released amid search for new victims
2023-09-05 06:50
Dallas teenager charged with murder after AMBER Alert issued for her
A Dallas teenager was charged with murder just hours after an AMBER Alert was issued for the girl when she briefly went missing under “suspicious circumstances.” The Friday morning alert for 17-year-old Natalie Navarro was cancelled when she was found safe, but in a bizarre twist, she now faces a murder charge. Ms Navarro and the suspect in her reported disappearance, 21-year-old Yordy “Jordy” Martinez, are both wanted in the 29 August shooting death of Arturo Pena, also 21. Pena’s body was found in a vehicle along West Oates Road in Audubon Park in Garland, Texas last week. He had been reported missing to the Dallas Police Department on 27 August. Both Ms Navarro and Mr Martinez had warrants out for their arrest in connection to Pena’s death when the AMBER Alert was issued. Further details about Ms Navarro’s arrest were not released and Garland police say they are still “trying to figure out exactly” how the three individuals knew each other. Mr Martinez is feared to have fled across the US-Mexico border and remains at large. He has a criminal history that includes a felony indictment for allegedly shooting a gun into a house in Garland last November. “There’s a lot of stuff going out, we’ve collected a lot of evidence, so we’re trying to process everything right now,’ Lt Richard Maldonado of the Garland Police Department said. “The reason why this happened, we’ve yet to totally determine that,” he added about a potential motive. “We hope to get more when we talk to Natalie to see exactly what was going on if these persons knew each other, if they had a relationship, if there was a falling out.” Anyone with information on Mr Martinez’s location or Pena’s murder is asked to call the Garland Police at 972-485-4840 Read More Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings BTK serial killer’s chilling drawings released amid search for new victims Moment alleged teen killer smiles at camera after double murder arrest
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Manhunt for dangerous fugitive hones in on heavily wooded area after four sightings
A manhunt continues for a dangerous inmate who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison last week as authorities focus on a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township after four confirmed sightings. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, has been on the run in Chester County since Thursday after he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the fatal stabbing of his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend. District Attorney Deb Ryan announced at a press briefing on Monday that the Pennsylvania State Police will be taking over the investigation and manhunt. “The goal right now is to find and capture this dangerous fugitive,” Ms Ryan said, adding that she understands the community’s concerns. “We are doing everything in our power to get this guy.” The search is focused on a two-mile radius of a heavily wooded area in Pocopsen Township, Chester County where there have been four credible sightings since the escape. Police said on Monday that over the past five days, Cavalcante has been spotted at the intersection of Rt. 926 and Rt. 52, north on Rt. 52 to Parkersville Road, southeast to Rt. 926 and west to the intersection of Rt. 926 and Rt. 52 in Pocopson Township. Ryan said police have responded to well over 100 tips from neighbours in the area, including allegations of possible break-ins within the two-mile radius of the prison. “We are requesting that residents in the area of Pocopson Township remain inside. Lock your doors, lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual. There is evidence to suggest that he’s still in that local residence. We do not believe he has gotten more than one to two miles away from the prison,” Ms Ryan said. “We believe we are getting closer to locating the suspect at this time, and we are narrowing the scope of our search,” she added. Community members were also made aware that an audio recording from Cavalcante’s mother will be played throughout the day from police cars and helicopters. The message, which is in Portuguese – Cavalcante’s native tongue – is of his mother pleading for him to surrender peacefully. He was spotted on cameras around 12.30am on Saturday in Pocopson Township, roughly one and a half miles from the prison. Local authorities received a report of an attempted burglary in the area just an hour before Cavalcante was captured on surveillance but it is not immediately clear if he was involved. Police said residents in the area should scan video from their doorbells or surveillance cameras for anything suspicious. They also advised people to check their cars and any sheds on their property. Cavalcante is described as a 5ft Brazilian man with light complexion, shaggy, black curly hair and brown eyes. He is also wanted for a homicide in 2017 in Brazil, the US Marshals Service for Philadelphia said. Since his escape, he was seen wearing a light-coloured shirt, pants, and white sneakers. He was also carrying a backpack, but police said they don’t know when he obtained the bag. Hundreds of law enforcement teams, including the US Marshals, SWAT, local, state, and other federal agencies, have joined the search. Authorities are also offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Cavalcante’s arrest. Authorities urged people to not approach Cavalcante, who speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Cavalcante killed his ex-girlfriend in Schuylkill Township in front of the victim’s seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old before fleeing to Virginia. Ms Ryan called it a “heartbreaking tragedy”. Read More Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Now he’s on the run after a prison break Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante spotted on surveillance camera in Pennsylvania
2023-09-05 02:52
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Alex Murdaugh claims mystery evidence will prove need for new murder trial
Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has claimed that mysterious “newly discovered evidence” will pave the way for him to be granted a new trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. Murdaugh’s attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a statement that new evidence had come to light since his March conviction over the brutal 7 June 2021 slayings. This evidence will form the basis of a new motion requesting a retrial in the high-profile case. The attorneys – who are longtime friends of the killer and represented him at his high-profile murder trial – will reveal this new evidence and release the motion at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The briefing is scheduled to take place on the grounds of the South Carolina State House near the Court of Appeals in Columbia at 2.30pm local time. For now, the details remain a mystery. Murdaugh is currently behind bars at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina where he is serving two life sentences for his wife and son’s murders. Last week, it emerged that Murdaugh had lost some of his prison privileges after he fed information to a Fox Nation documentary without permission. South Carolina Corrections Department officials said on Wednesday that, during a jailhouse phone call on 10 June, Mr Griffin had recorded him reading aloud entries from the journal he had kept during his double murder trial. Mr Griffin had then handed over the recordings to producers working on the new Fox Nation documentary about his high-profile case titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh”, released today. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the media without permission because the agency “believes that victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” state prisons spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement. The media interview violation, along with another violation for using a different inmate’s password to make a telephone call, are prison discipline issues and not a crime, Ms Shain said. As a result, the disgraced legal scion has had his phone privileges revoked and his prison tablet computer confiscated. Murdaugh also lost his ability to buy items in the prison canteen for a month. He will now have to get permission from prison officials to get another tablet, which can be used to make monitored phone calls, watch approved entertainment, read books or take video classes, the prison spokesperson said. Mr Griffin was also issued a warning from prison officials that if he knowingly or unknowingly helps Murdaugh violate rules again, he could lose his ability to talk to his client. Phone calls between lawyers and prisoners are not recorded or reviewed because their conversations are considered confidential. But prison officials said they began investigating Murdaugh after a warden reviewing other phone calls heard Murdaugh’s voice on a call made in a different inmate’s account. Murdaugh claimed that his phone password had not been working. He also told the prison investigators about the recorded journal entries, according to prison records. Murdaugh’s use of a jailhouse tablet previously hit headlines when selfie images he took on the device were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by FITS News. In many of the images, the convicted family killer appeared topless. South Carolina prison officials later clarified that the photos are automatically taken as an inmate uses their tablet that is individually assigned to them – as part of inmate monitoring. Now, Murdaugh has lost the use of his tablet indefinitely due to his unauthorised communication with the documentarymakers – which marks his first media interview of sorts since his conviction. His eldest – and now only surviving – son Buster Murdaugh also broke his silence speaking out in his first TV interview as part of the three-part series. In the interview, Buster insisted that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders of his mother and brother – but admitted that he may be a psychopath. Maggie and Paul were found shot dead on the family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate back on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh had called 911 claiming to have found their bodies. During his high-profile murder trial, jurors heard how Paul was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun while he stood in the feed room of the dog kennels on the affluent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate. The second shot to his head blew his brain almost entirely out of his skull. After killing Paul, prosecutors said Murdaugh then grabbed a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on Maggie as she tried to flee from her husband. During the dramatic six-week trial, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders but continued to claim his innocence of the killings. The jury didn’t agree and the disgraced legal scion was convicted in March of the brutal murders. Beyond the murder charges, Murdaugh, 55, is also facing a slew of financial fraud charges for stealing millions of dollars from his law firm clients and his dead housekeeper’s family. He is expected to plead guilty on 21 September to federal charges – marking the first time he has pleaded guilty to a crime in court. Murdaugh is also facing around 100 financial charges in state court as well as charges over a botched hitman plot where he claims he paid an accomplice to shoot him dead. Murdaugh’s high-profile conviction also shone a spotlight on some other mystery deaths tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty. Following Maggie and Paul’s murders, investigations were reopened into the 2018 death of the Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield and the 2015 homicide of gay teenager Stephen Smith. Meanwhile, at the time of his murder, Paul was also awaiting trial for the 2019 boat crash death of Mallory Beach. Read More Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh loses prison privileges over recorded phone call for documentary Buster Murdaugh breaks silence on Stephen Smith killing – and calls father Alex a ‘psychopath’ Alex Murdaugh to plead guilty in theft case. It would be the first time he admits to a crime
2023-09-04 21:17